In his first singles match since the US Open semi-finals, Kei Nishikori withstood an impressive performance by Donald Young to prevail 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2016 on Monday. The 26-year-old Nishikori is looking to win this ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tournament in Tokyo for the third time this week, following victories in 2012 and 2014, defeating Milos Raonic both times. A good run for the right-hander would also stand him in good stead in the Emirates ATP Race To London. Nishikori is currently fifth in the year-to-date standings, with the Top 8 at the end of the regular season qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. There was...
Milos Raonic is looking for a strong mental performance in Beijing as he looks to turn things around after disappointing results at the US Open and St. Petersburg. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
A runner-up showing at the China Open six years could be David Ferrer’s lucky omen this week as the Spaniard seeks to reach his first ATP World Tour final of 2016. On Monday, he made the first step towards doing so with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas. The fifth seed, having slipped to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Uruguayan to 4-0 in what was the pair’s first clash on hard court. In the match, which featured only one break point between the two, it was Ferrer who made the most of his sole opportunity. He broke to take the opening set and secured the result on his second...
Fourth seed Marin Cilic’s Rakuten Japan Open Championships 2016 campaign is off on the right foot after downing last year's finalist Benoit Paire on Monday. Cilic raced through the opening set in only 20 minutes, but the Frenchman rebounded strongly before succumbing 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 in one hour and 49 minutes. Cilic reached the quarter-finals in Tokyo last season before falling to home favourite Kei Nishikori. He will bid to reach his ninth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season when he next faces Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. [ALSO LIKE] Paire, who defeated Nick Kyrgios and Nishikori en route to last year’s final, slipped to 1-2 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Cilic, whose superior firepower proved telling on Monday. The Croatian...